Living in Limbo
by forensicsfan
Summary: A series of fluffy and semi-fluffy one and two shots. Random topics always full of our favorite couple. Enjoy.
1. Reality TV

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them. I do however enjoy taking them out from time to time and playing with them. Kudos to Hart Hanson for creating them.

**Author's Note:** This is going to be one of those series of one shots or maybe two shots. Nothing is in any particular order, but in whatever order these random ideas come to me. Hopefully, my enormous case of writer's block will finally be eradicated and I'll have an actual story idea very soon - to string you along until I get Booth and Brennan together in the end, because really what other sort of ending do you want in a story?

* * *

"It isn't rational." Brennan furrowed her brow as she considered the television program that Angela had forced her to sit and watch. While it was interesting from an anthropological point of view, she couldn't understand why a woman would willingly go on national television to simultaneously date nearly thirty men, eliminating some of them each week with the eventual goal of finding true love with only one of them. She was an attractive woman by anyone's standards, surely she couldn't be that desperate.

"It's called _The Bachelorette_ and it isn't supposed to be rational, Sweetie. This is mindless brain candy and that's what you're supposed to be using your new TV for." Angela still couldn't believe that Booth had finally talked Brennan into getting one in the first place, but as long as it was girl's night in, she was going to make sure it was put to good use. Besides, only a few of the men were left and she was curious who this year's bachelorette was going to choose.

"Booth convinced me to get the TV because of all of the educational programming available." She glanced over at Angela as she gestured towards the flat screen. "Why would people tune in to watch a woman who is so indecisive? Is this show popular?" She had already identified who the alpha male truly was, and clearly this woman had no idea, despite the fact that she had eliminated nearly all of the candidates.

Angela snorted out a laugh. "Yes, it's popular. This is like the zillionth installment. Everyone loves a love story." Although the love story she'd really like to tune into was the end of the denial that Booth and Brennan seemed to be living in.

"Love is just a biochemical response, and given that she seems equally attracted to all of the remaining men, I'm not convinced she believes in love either." If this was supposed to reinforce the idea of falling in love, it seemed to Brennan to be doing the exact opposite.

Angela considered that for a moment. "Well you have a point, I mean if I had that many men to choose from, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to figure out which one I'd want right off the bat." The guy with the wavy hair had plenty of possibilities, he was strong, manly, and had a fabulous smile. "Well after taking a few test drives first anyhow."

"It seems to be a rather artificial way to meet someone anyway." This whole show was one big perpetual fantasy - how could a rational, reasonable person be expected to find a suitable partner unless it was over the course of their day to day life? There were too many variables that couldn't be quantified in a scenario like this. Even internet dating was a more reasonable method of making a choice than this was.

"But it makes for great TV." Angela grinned. "And in the end you just have to go with your heart." Maybe one of these days Bren would realize who her heart had already fallen for.

"Booth would say that." He was the heart person after all, and suddenly Brennan wondered what Booth would think about this woman with so many men to choose from on television.

"Speaking of Agent Hot Stuff, don't you think he'd be perfect for a show like this?" Angela didn't think Booth would ever be willing to subject himself to an obsessed American viewing public, but perhaps if Brennan felt threatened she might wake up and see the perfect alpha male right under her nose.

Brennan considered it thoughtfully. "Booth would be a perfect candidate, although with that many men to compete against, a woman could be distracted by too many shiny baubles and miss his real value."

Angela inwardly grinned. "Well they have a version of this called _The Bachelor_ too."

"Oh." She hadn't really considered that. Would Booth really do a show like this where he had his pick of seemingly perfect women? Did he even know a show like this existed? Could this be an ideal way for a heart person to meet their perfect match - especially one who believed in love the way Booth did?

"Booth would make one hot Bachelor." It was an honest observation, not that Angela was interested herself, she knew that Booth and Brennan were destined to be together if they'd only get over their denial.

"I'm not sure what temperature has to do with it it, but Booth is a bachelor and he is by objective standards very attractive." She could concede that point, his appearance was very symmetrical and he had strong, handsome features.

Angela smirked. "Sweetie, Booth isn't just hot by objective standards, he's hot by your standards."

"He wouldn't make a spectacle of himself on television though. While it might appeal to his ego to have so many available women throwing themselves at him, his desire for justice wouldn't allow him to take so much time away from work just for a television show." Brennan was sure that his cosmic balance sheet wouldn't allow him to put his job on hold. "Besides, he has Parker to consider."

"Admit it, Bren. If Booth went on a show like that, you'd be jealous." Amusement seemed to dance in her eyes as she regarded her friend.

"Jealousy is completely irrational." Of course very few women would be even good enough to date Booth, let alone convince him that she should be the only woman in his life.

"So is love, but people fall in love every day." She really hoped that eventually Brennan would believe that it was possible and that she already had something really special with Booth that most people would die for. If either of them would ever admit it, that is.

"Doesn't her propensity for kissing each of the men cause the others to become more territorial?" The entire idea of this show seemed to be entirely contradictory to the American social dating scene as she understood it. It was a good thing her specialty was forensic anthropology - living, breathing people were entirely too complicated.

"You mean are they jealous?" She could frame it any way she wanted to, but it still meant the same thing as far as Angela was concerned. "They're men, what do you think?"

A knock at the door seemed to offer a reprieve.

Angela smiled - fate seemed to be intervening as Brennan opened the door to reveal Booth standing there with bags of take out.

"Hey, Bones, I saw your light on and thought you might be hungry." His smile faltered only a hair as he noticed that his partner wasn't the only one there.

"Angela and I were just watching a television show." Brennan gestured towards the TV. "Something about a bachelorette."

Booth had a slight 'deer in the headlights' look on his face. "I don't want to intrude."

"You are not intruding." Angela saw this as her perfect chance to give these two a well placed push. What girl's night was complete without a man to spice things up? "We were just watching _The Bachelorette_, bet you wish you were one of those lucky guys."

"None of those guys are getting lucky." Booth scoffed as he sandwiched himself between the ladies on the couch and set the bags of takeout on the coffee table.

"Isn't that the whole point of the program?" Brennan quirked an eyebrow in his direction as she honed in on the carton of Pad Thai.

"There isn't any guarantee that she's gonna end up with the real thing, and trust me, some of these guys should have had a background check." One particular guy seemed to stand out to Booth and he pointed a chopstick at the TV. "That guy right there has slimeball written all over him. Why is he still in the mix at this point? What kind of woman goes for that?"

"He looks pretty hot to me." Of course bad boy seemed to scream attractive to Angela.

"Anthropologically speaking it probably isn't the most realistic way to find an ideal partner. For a something considered a reality show, it seems to have very little to do with reality." With cameras watching your every move, how could a person possibly feel comfortable enough to evaluate a potential match? Brennan was sure that she would never consent to being involved in that kind of situation.

"Yeah." Booth chuckled in agreement. "First of all, the average guy doesn't have that kind of cash to throw around on lavish dates. After something like that, everything else is going to be a big disappointment."

"Why do you assume that a man has to be the one to pay for the date? Surely there are plenty of women who could afford to pay for the kind of date they'd want." She really didn't like stereotypes.

"Not everyone is as well off as you are, Bones." Booth offered a grin. "A guy likes to woo a woman though. Let her knew he appreciates her." He certainly appreciated Bones, but wasn't so sure that she'd ever realize it.

"By going out of their way to do nice things for them, for example." Angela's smile was a little too bright as she flashed it in Booth's direction. She knew what he was up to and it was nice that at least one half of her favorite non-couple wasn't in as much denial as she'd assumed.

"Yeah, that." If Booth had picked up on Angela's inference, he didn't let on.

Brennan pursed her lips together and seemed to contemplate that for a moment. She nodded just a bit as she crashed into her own conclusion. "I could see that." She glanced over at Booth. "But what's wrong with a woman wanting to woo a man?"

Angela rolled her eyes and inwardly laughed.

"It's just not natural, Bones. Men don't want to be wooed, women do." There was a hint of a whine in his voice.

"In some cultures it's perfectly natural for a woman to pursue a man." Brennan abandoned the Pad Thai and plucked the Mee Krab from the assortment of cartons.

"Well this man does not want to be wooed." Of course if Bones was the one doing the wooing, he might just have to reconsider his stand on the issue.

Angela was starting to feel like she was a fly on the wall.

"Well then it's a good thing that I'm not wooing you. I wouldn't try and woo someone who didn't want to be wooed." Brennan wasn't about to set herself up for rejection, especially not by someone who was as important to her as Booth was.

Angela whispered under her breath in amusement. "Woohoo."

"You wouldn't?" Booth seemed almost hurt.

"Not if you didn't want me to." Was he asking to be wooed? Brennan was confused.

"Oh." _There you go, shove the broccoli into your mouth and save yourself from saying something really stupid, Seel._

"But I could meet you halfway." Brennan didn't seem to realize the implications of her words.

Angela resisted the urge to squeal and shoved a bite of Pad Kee Mau in her mouth.

"Oh." Booth swallowed hard with an eyebrow quirked. Half way was good. In fact, half way was looking pretty damn good. He could do half way. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You do that." Brennan smiled and shifted just a little bit closer to him as she turned her attention back to the television. "Now who do you think she's going to pick? I kind of like the guy with the dark hair and brown eyes."

Booth couldn't help but protest. "C'mon, Bones, she's not going to pick him - she's completely ignoring all of his signals."

With a mischievous smile on her face, Angela chimed in. "Oh, I don't know. She might be more aware of his signals than you think." She was very pleased with how the evening had gone. _The Bachelorette _might not find her true love this season on TV, but she was sure that the two people sitting next to her would emerge from their denial and live happily ever after. And much sooner than she'd ever hoped.


	2. Twister

**Author's Note:** This is dedicated to my right ankle which currently sits in an air cast just in time for a week of temperatures in the 90s and no AC. Darn ankle. At least I have plenty of time sitting down to write - as long as ideas come my way.

* * *

"Dad, I can't get my right hand on blue, you're in the way!" There was a distinct whine in Parker's voice as he tried to reach around the elder Booth's arm for the big blue dot that was his goal.

"That's part of the game, Bub." Booth wasn't sure how he'd been talked into playing Twister in the first place, but Parker had been talking about the game for weeks and so he just couldn't say no when he'd brought it along for their weekend together.

"Maybe if I go under you." That was the advantage of being a lot shorter than your dad, it was easier to scoot under him and get your hand on the spot before he did.

As Parker claimed blue with his right hand, Booth couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Nice job." They had given up using the spinner, instead throwing out random combinations for the next move. "Ok, how about left foot green?"

"Dad, that's really far!" It really was quite a stretch for Parker to get all the way over there without being disqualified for moving from the other dots. He was a Booth though, and so he made a lunge for it.

"Whoa, Bub!" Parker's move knocked right into Booth and threw him off balance. Since his son had ducked underneath him to reach the dots, he tried to pivot so he wouldn't land on him as he came crashing down.

"I did it, Dad!" Parker seemed really pleased, especially since it looked like he'd won.

"That's great, Bub." Booth winced. Of all the times for his back to go out, it had to go out now.

"You wanna play again, Dad?" Mom was gonna pick him up soon and he wanted to get as much playing in as possible because she sure wouldn't play Twister with him. She was going to make sure he'd brushed his teeth and had enough veggies before she made him go to bed way too early for summertime.

"I think I'm just gonna rest here for a minute." Or an hour or three if necessary. There was no getting around the fact that he was going to need a little help getting up and he didn't think that Parker would be able to do it without making it hurt even more. Just what an FBI Special Agent needed - to be taken out by a game of Twister.

"C'mon, Dad, let's play again." Parker launched himself at his father, fully expecting to get a tickle fight in return. He certainly didn't anticipate the groan he got instead.

"Parker, I need you to get my phone. Can you do that for me?" Clearly he was going to have to actually call someone if he wanted help.

"Are you feeling sick?" Parker's brow was deeply furrowed as he retrieved the phone off of the kitchen table.

"Yeah, Bub, my back is feeling sick." He should have known better than to play something like Twister in the first place. "I'm just gonna give Bones a call and see if she can come help. Okay?" The last thing he wanted was for Parker to freak out or think that it was his fault in some way.

"Is Bones going to fix your back?" It seemed a little strange, but she was a doctor and you did go see doctors when you weren't feeling good.

"Yup, she'll fix it up as good as new." At least Booth hoped she would without giving him a lecture on working on his core strength. That was just a chance he was going to have to take.

"Do you think Bones will play Twister with me?" Parker sat down on the floor, thinking that he would just have to tell his dad all about his booger blowing competition that he and his pal Jimmy had going until Bones showed up.

* * *

Nearly twenty minutes later, there was a soft tap on the door before a key turned in the lock and Brennan walked purposefully into Booth's apartment in a simple pair of jeans and a blue button up blouse. The view of Parker sitting cross-legged and Booth sprawled out on his back on a mat with multi-colored dots made her pause for a moment. "So you were twisting when you hurt your back?"

Parker grinned at her. "We were playing Twister."

Booth let out a groan. "Can you just help me up and do that thing with your magic fingers?" Maybe if he flashed her a smile she would overlook the fact that he had been playing a game when he went down for the count.

Parker's eyes widened. "You have magic fingers?"

"There is nothing inherently magical about my fingers." She inwardly rolled her eyes as she went over to Booth and helped him sit up so she could hook her arms under his to help him stand up.

"Do you know how to play Twister?" Parker was pretty impressed that she had magic fingers. Maybe she could show him how to do magic too.

"I don't know what that is." Brennan loosened her hold on Booth and glanced at Parker.

Parker pointed at the mat on the floor. "Well this is the Twister board and then you spin and put your hands and feet on the dots." Surely with such a simple explanation, Bones would want to play it with him. She might be a girl, but she was wearing jeans, not some dumb old skirt and she wasn't afraid of bugs.

It took her less than a millisecond to process exactly why Booth had thrown his back out. "With your history of lumbar issues, I'm surprised that you would purposely put yourself in a situation that could cause subluxation."

"I was doing just fine until I lost my balance." He was perfectly fit, okay, well maybe not as fit as he should be given his current state, but he was doing well above average by most people's standards.

"Engaging in some yoga or Pilates might help increase both your strength and flexibility." It had certainly helped her.

"Will plate-ease help my dad play Twister better?" He knew the game was probably over for the evening, but he could try couldn't he?

"It's Pilates, Parker, and yes, it will help him do a lot of things better." Brennan nodded.

"Can you just fix my back already." He turned his head intending to give her a knee-weakening smile and ended up wincing instead.

"Maybe you should come with me to my next yoga class." She knew him well enough that he'd never go do it on his own, but he might be inclined if she asked him to.

"Well, if you don't fix my back, I won't be in any shape to _take_ a yoga class." Not that he had any intention of _going_ to any yoga class. If the guys at the Bureau caught wind of him doing down-facing dog, he'd never hear the end of it.

Another knock sounded at the door and Parker scrambled up off the floor to answer it. "I got it!"

Brennan hooked her arms under Booth's and wrapped them up and around until her fingers laced behind his neck. "Ok, just try and relax."

"Just be gentle." He tried to keep the whine out of his voice - he trusted Bones, but it didn't mean that the whole idea that she could work her mumbo jumbo and make him feel better freaked him out a little.

"If you don't trust me, we can go to the hospital." She'd been working on her latest novel when he'd called and if he didn't trust her, he could have easily call 9-1-1 instead.

"I trust you, Bones. This just makes me a little nervous that's all." He was just going to let her do this and shut his big fat mouth.

"Do you want me to do it or not?" Her body was flush up against his.

"Yes." As soon as he spoke she began to pivot around a few times before bringing them both back up straight.

"Oh!" A rather surprised and amused Rebecca Stinson walked into the room with Parker right behind her.

"See, Bones is fixing Dad's back." He looked rather pleased that he tell his mom what had happened and how big of a helper he was being.

"I see that." Of course if that's what they wanted to call it, who was she to judge?

"He twisted too much during Twister." Parker suddenly realized that his admission probably meant that no one was going to play the game with him again anytime soon.

Booth knew what Rebecca was thinking, but she couldn't have been further from the truth if she tried. Even if in his wildest fantasies he might want what she was thinking to be reality. "Bones fixed me up good." Of course he was afraid to move for a minute.

"I merely realigned your spine." Brennan hadn't done anything remarkable considering that her specialty _was_ bones.

"Well Parker and I need to get going, he's got an early morning with day camp." And it didn't hurt that it looked like Seeley might just need a little time alone with his _partner_.

"You don't need to rush off on my account." Brennan felt as if she was imposing on a family moment - even if the family wasn't exactly a whole unit.

"But you just got here." If Rebecca took Parker and Bones left too, he was going to be all alone. Surely she could give up a squinty evening and spend a little time with him. What if his back when out again? Then what? She should just stay put for a little while to make sure her adjustment had taken.

"No rushing." Rebecca smiled. "I really need to get going and _someone_ needs to get a bath."

"But I had a bath on Thursday!" Parker's whine was in full swing along with a roll of his eyes. Geesh, how many baths did one kid need during the summer anyway?

"Parker." Booth's voice held a warning tone. "You need to listen to your mom, Bub." He knew that at his age, getting him to take a bath more than once a week was a major victory.

"Okay." The blond mop top wasn't thrilled about it, but if both Mom _and_ Dad were saying it, he knew he couldn't get out of it.

Booth gave him a big hug and a kiss and ruffed up his hair. "Love you, Bub."

"Love you, Dad." Parker had that Booth grin spreading across his face as he turned towards the woman with the magic fingers and waved. "Bye, Bones."

"Bye, Parker." Brennan wasn't sure if she should stay or go, but was inclined to just follow Rebecca and Parker out and go back to her apartment and continue writing her book.

Booth stepped in front of her before she could bolt. "Really, Bones, you don't have to go." He didn't want her to go and Rebecca already had Parker's things together and was propelling him towards the door at lightning speed.

She considered for just a moment that his eyes were twinkling at her and he had that smile she couldn't say no to, and so she nodded as a smile spread across her face. "Okay."

Booth clapped his hands together as the door shut behind Parker and Rebecca. "Okay, you want a beer?" He didn't even wait for an answer as he strode over to the refrigerator and pulled out two cold ones.

"Sure." Brennan wandered over towards the couch and as she sat down noticed that the Twister mat was still on the floor. She glanced up as Booth came back with the beer. "You know Parker forgot his game."

"I'm sure that was on purpose." Booth let out a chuckle and then took a nice swig of his beer as he sat down next to her.

"It seems rather sexual in nature, given the goal of intertwining with the other players." It was a perfectly logical observation, but she should have known that it would make Booth uncomfortable.

Beer nearly came spraying out his mouth and nose as he tried not to choke. "It's a children's game." Of course now that she mentioned sex, all he seemed to think about was all the ways he could twist around on that mat with her. _Get your mind out of the gutter, Seel._

"I could see how it could help with dexterity, strength and cognition." Not that it eliminated a possible sexual element - she could envision using it to enhance the experience.

"Now that we've covered Twister, why don't we watch a movie." Anything to get his mind off of pinning her to the mat.

"Sure." Brennan cast a sidelong glance and reached for his television remote. "But _I_ get to pick the movie."

Booth casually slung his arm across the back of the couch and smiled. "A documentary on the Ooba Tooba is _not_ a movie, just for the record."

"I'm not sure why you think that entertainment can't be educational." She had the remote so he really didn't have much to say about it.

"By definition entertainment is supposed to be _entertaining_." The truth was, no matter what they watched, _she_ was the best form of entertainment, and maybe someday - probably much further into the future than he'd like - they could play their very own game of Twister to entertain themselves.


	3. Say Cheese

"And you broke his fall with your lips." Angela Montenegro wasn't buying the explanation that her best friend had blurted out as to exactly why she and Booth were sprawled out on the couch in her office. "I don't think so."

"I tripped and Bones was in the way." Of course the fact that they'd kept kissing after the initial collision wasn't something he was going to confess to Angela. At the moment all he could think about was how much he wanted to kiss Bones again.

"Try again Hot Stuff." Oh, this was definitely her lucky day. She had hoped that these two would finally wake up from their denial, but to actually walk in on the moment was more than she could have hoped for.

"It's basic physics, Booth is larger than I am and when he tripped on the edge of the carpet I broke his fall, and as the lighter object, I fell. The fact that my lips broke his fall was merely coincidental." The fact that she'd more than enjoyed the kiss was not something Angela really needed to know. Booth was an excellent kisser and she immediately wondered if it was an isolated event or if she should arrange to further quantify the experience with more data.

Angela snorted out a scoff and wagged her finger at the pair. "This isn't one of those things that you can explain away with science - unless it's the science of attraction that is." A knowing smile spread across her face.

"That isn't a legitimate science." True as her statement was, Brennan was becoming a believer in this science of attraction. Booth was very attractive.

"Oh, right, it's actually the law of attraction, isn't that right, Booth." She had them in her crosshairs and she knew that they both knew it. It was going to take some kind of amazing skill to waltz their way out of this one.

Booth smoothed his tie down, trying not to think about the way Bones had yanked it, which was why he'd tripped on the carpet in the first place. "Speaking of laws. Bones and I have a _law breaker_ to find, so if you'll excuse us, we have a suspect to collar."

"I thought we were simply going to interview the suspect. What does they type of shirt they have on have to do with it?" Brennan blinked at Booth.

"It's an expression, Bones." He just wanted to get them out of there and away from Angela as quickly as possible. "I'll explain it to you on the way."

As Booth ushered Brennan right past Angela, she called out after them. "This isn't over." She knew people and right now, she was going to go talk to her friends in the Jeffersonian security department about a certain security tape. They might not want to tell her the exact truth, but the tape wasn't going to lie.

* * *

Angela was considering having a conversation with Cam about the lack of security cameras in the lab, but she was smart enough to know that Cam would know that something was up that had nothing to do with security at all. Her trip to the security office had been a big disappointment. The angle of the damn camera was no help at all. Booth had indeed tripped and fallen into Brennan, but the stupid couch had blocked out anything good. Clearly she was going to have to take the pair at their word until she could set up her own camera to catch them in action.

* * *

"He had a perfectly good alibi, Booth." Brennan wasn't sure why he was so agitated. The man had explained where he was and it had been checked out. They hadn't been gone all that long and as they walked back into her office she considered that they needed to re-examine the evidence they did have.

"I could smell his guilt." This of course meant that either this guy was good at covering his tracks or they were back to square one and he didn't like either option. Hopefully the squints would do their job faster and get something that would point at the guilty party. Although, he really hadn't liked that guy at all, especially the way he kept flirting with Bones.

"I wasn't aware that guilt had a scent." She had that studious expression on her face. "Although, nervous perspiration could account for any odor you picked up on."

"He was cool as a cucumber." And Booth hadn't liked it one bit.

"The ambient temperature of cucumbers is the same as other vegetables. It's the moisture content that gives it a cooling sensation." She smiled as they came to the same spot they'd been standing earlier before she'd grabbed his tie and Angela had walked in on them.

Booth pursed his lips together, her squinty-speak was giving him a bit of a headache, and all he wanted to do was to kiss her again. And as if she was having a Vulcan mind meld with him, he got a flash of Deja Vu as she grabbed his tie and they went tumbling onto the couch all over again.

Oh, yes, he kissed just as good as he had the first time. Well, better actually when she considered that he seemed to pick up on her intentions a bit quicker than before.

As they broke apart a few moments later, Booth had a cocky grin on his face. "You could have just asked, you didn't have to pull me onto the couch if you wanted to kiss me." The fact that she wanted him just seemed to boost his ego.

"Yes I did." She smirked at him very pleased with the data she was collecting. "The security camera can't see over the back of the couch." And with that, she pulled him back in for another kiss.


	4. Plumbing for Dummies

**Author's Note:** After seeing an interview with David Boreanaz about an episode in the new season dealing with one of those "Dummies" books, I just had to add this one to my little Limbo collection. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Border's Books was the last place that Special Agent Seeley Booth had planned to be on a Friday night, especially with his partner in tow. But he'd gotten home only to find that his kitchen sink was having issues and it needed to be fixed. He used to know how to tackle this sort of problem all on his own before his brain surgery - he had the tools to prove it. Of course at the moment, that meant nothing.

"This one looks like it would provide the basics." Brennan held up a copy of _Plumbing for Dummies_. After a quick flip through the book, she had surmised that with the step by step instructions and the illustrations that it would be a very helpful book.

"So now I'm a dummy am I?" He knew she meant well, but the title of the book was insulting.

"You are very intelligent, Booth. However, your cognition has been disrupted and may require some remedial aids." She could tell that he was skeptical. She let out a sigh and a soft smile spread across her face. "Would it help you to know that I would find this book extremely helpful if I had a need to fix a sink on my own?"

Booth studied her for a moment before deciding that she meant what she said - the way Bones always meant what she said. "Okay, I guess _Plumbing for Dummies_ it is." As it was, they'd spent far too much time at the book store when he'd promised that he'd cook for her before they tackled a mountain of paperwork at his place. The broken sink had interrupted his ability to impress her with a pasta dish that he couldn't remember why he knew how to make it.

"I can help you, if you'd like." Fixing a sink could very well come in handy at some point in the future and the knowledge she picked up would only enhance her ability to do her job.

He slung his arm over her shoulder as they made their way to the register to buy the book. "We may just learn something together."

* * *

Whatever Booth hoped to accomplish he hadn't really considered that it would have him nice and cozy under his kitchen sink with Bones. She had been reading off the instructions and pointing to the various parts as he replaced the supply line hose. He couldn't help but bump into her as he worked. But now, he was sure that he was all done and they could get on with that dinner. "Okay, ready to test her out, Bones?" He didn't wait for a response before he started to turn the shut off valve back on.

"Booth, did you make sure to tighten everything?" Brennan wasn't so sure that he was finished. There was a checklist that they hadn't gone through yet.

"I tightened it all really good." And just as the words left his mouth, water started to spray everywhere. Apparently that spare washer wasn't so spare after all and he fumbled with the shut off valve to turn the water off again before pushing himself out from underneath the sink.

Brennan squealed and wriggled her way out from underneath the sink. "Something wasn't tight enough. I told you that you should have double checked."

"I thought I was done." He felt frustrated as he sat there in the middle of his kitchen floor soaking wet.

"It's just a sink, Booth." She reached out and touched his arm, realizing that they were learning this together.

He glanced up and noticed rivulets of water running down her face and her hair plastered to her head and he let out a chuckle. "You look pretty hot when you're all wet." He couldn't resist the urge to try and push her hair off of her face, his fingers lingering a little bit too long.

"Why would the amount of moisture affect my temperature?" She was slightly confused, not only at his comment, but at the stirring of arousal she was feeling towards him.

Her confusion pushed him over the edge and he couldn't help but lean in and kiss her - something he'd been wanting to do since he'd woken up after his surgery. He was pleasantly surprised when she eagerly kissed him back.

Gripping fistfuls of his t-shirt, she pulled him with her back onto the floor. Neither one of them seemed to notice the puddling water any longer as they continued to kiss. Brennan was the first one to pull away. "Maybe we should save the paperwork for tomorrow."

Paperwork, right, it was getting late and she probably wanted to go home. He was lucky that she wasn't pissed at him for kissing her. "Uh, tomorrow, sure."

A sultry smirk flitted across her face. "Because right now, I think I just want to get out of these wet clothes and warm up."

"Right." He should have offered her towel instead of kissing her and now he was going to have to clean up the kitchen all by himself. So much for making her dinner.

"Don't you?" Brennan could see the confusion clouding Booth's expression and so she thought that perhaps a bit of clarification was in order as she peeled her own t-shirt off, leaving her there in her bra and a very wet pair of jeans.

Booth thought his eyes were going to explode right out of his head as he finally caught on to what she was talking about. "Right!" He was sure as hell not going to screw this up and so he pulled his own t-shirt off and flung it in no particular direction.

It made her smile, especially when he pulled her up off of the floor and into his arms for another kiss.

* * *

Somehow they managed to get to his bedroom without injury, leaving in their wake a very awkwardly discarded trail of wet clothing.

Booth was sure that he had died and gone to Heaven or that maybe he'd never really woken up from that coma. Surely that was the only explanation for why he had a very naked Bones tangled up with him in his sheets. That is until she started nibbling on his ear.

She wondered to herself what logical reason their could have been that they hadn't done this before - repeatedly. Well they were just going to have to make up for lost time.

Booth's lips found hers and as he pulled her closer, it occurred to him that there were much better ways to spend a Friday night than fixing a sink, unless of course it ended up with having Bones in his arms.


End file.
